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"People refer to this place a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," remarks a tour guide, his breath creating clouds of condensation in the chilly evening air. "Countless individuals have gone missing here, some say there's a gateway to a different realm." The guide is escorting a traveler on a evening stroll through what is often described as the world's most haunted forest: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of primeval native woodland on the edges of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Stories of bizarre occurrences here date back centuries – the forest is called after a regional herder who is reportedly went missing in the long ago, together with two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu achieved worldwide fame in 1968, when an army specialist named Emil Barnea photographed what he claimed was a flying saucer hovering above a round opening in the middle of the forest.

Many came in here and vanished without trace. But no need to fear," he adds, addressing the visitor with a smirk. "Our excursions have a perfect safety record."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has drawn meditation experts, shamans, extraterrestrial investigators and supernatural researchers from across the world, eager to feel the strange energies believed to resonate through the forest.

Current Risks

Although it is among the planet's leading destinations for lovers of the paranormal, the forest is facing danger. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of more than 400,000 people, described as the tech capital of Eastern Europe – are expanding, and real estate firms are pushing for authorization to cut down the woods to construct residential buildings.

Barring a limited section housing area-specific oak varieties, the grove is lacking legal protection, but the guide is confident that the initiative he co-founded – a local conservation effort – will help to change that, motivating the government officials to appreciate the forest's value as a tourist attraction.

Eerie Encounters

As twigs and seasonal debris split and rustle beneath their boots, the guide tells various traditional stories and alleged supernatural events here.

• A popular tale tells of a little girl disappearing during a family picnic, later to rematerialise half a decade later with complete amnesia of what had happened, showing no signs of aging a moment, her garments lacking the slightest speck of dust.
• Regular stories explain cellphones and photography gear inexplicably shutting down on stepping into the forest.
• Feelings range from complete terror to moments of euphoria.
• Various visitors report noticing bizarre skin irritations on their arms, perceiving disembodied whispers through the forest, or sense palms pushing them, despite being convinced they're by themselves.

Study Attempts

While many of the tales may be unverifiable, there is much before my eyes that is certainly unusual. All around are plants whose bases are curved and contorted into fantastical shapes.

Various suggestions have been suggested to account for the misshapen plants: that hurricane winds could have shaped the young trees, or typically increased radioactivity in the ground explain their unusual development.

But research studies have turned up inconclusive results.

The Famous Clearing

Marius's walks enable guests to engage in a little scientific inquiry of their own. As we approach the meadow in the woods where Barnea took his famous UFO pictures, he hands the traveler an EMF meter which registers energy patterns.

"We're entering the most powerful section of the forest," he states. "See what you can find."

The vegetation abruptly end as we emerge into a perfect circle. The sole vegetation is the short grass beneath our feet; it's obvious that it's naturally occurring, and looks that this unusual opening is wild, not the creation of human hands.

The Blurred Line

This part of Romania is a location which stirs the imagination, where the line is unclear between reality and legend. In rural Romanian communities faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – undead, appearance-altering creatures, who emerge from tombs to haunt local communities.

Bram Stoker's renowned fictional vampire is forever associated with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – a medieval building perched on a rocky outcrop in the Transylvanian Alps – is heavily promoted as "Dracula's Castle".

But including folklore-rich Transylvania – literally, "the land past the woods" – appears real and understandable in contrast to this spooky forest, which appear to be, for causes radioactive, environmental or simply folkloric, a nexus for creative energy.

"In Hoia-Baciu," Marius states, "the boundary between fact and fiction is extremely fine."